News of the Force: Saturday, December 31, 2016 - Page 2

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News of the Force: Saturday, December 31, 2016 - Page 2

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U.S. Air Force

    

    T-X contenders are off to the races after the U.S. Air Force released its much anticipated final request for proposals for the T-38 trainer.

    It seems like only yesterday that the U.S. Air Force was asking Boeing to build it a laser cannon. In fact, it was more than a decade ago. Now, the company is ready to try it on laser jets.

    The Air Force Academy has beaten South Alabama 45-21 in the Arizona Bowl.

    The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, also part of a test wing, is where the Air Force's top pilots, navigators and engineers learn how to conduct flight operations.

    Thirty-four civic leaders from Mississippi have joined 403rd Wing leaders on a community relations tour at Keesler AFB, Miss.

    Dozens of Air Force Reserve firefighters with the 403rd Civil Engineer Squadron at Keesler AFB, Miss., worked for hours in the rain to help put out an off-base fire.

    The 165th Airlift Wing, of the Georgia Air National Guard, will hold a ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 4th, at 1 p.m., Eastern, for its new headquarters at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah.

    A Beaufort, S.C., car dealership recently came through for a local unit of the Civil Air Patrol, which found itself short one important piece of equipment - it needed a new passenger van.

    On Saturday, Dec. 17th, members of the Gonzales, La., Civil Air Patrol squadron took part in the "Wreaths Across America" ceremony held there.

    Former Civil Air Patrol national commander Brig. Gen. Rich Anderson writes: "Dear friends, As most of you know, Virginia conducts its state-level elections on the odd-numbered years, which means that I am up for reelection again in November 2017. With the conclusion of the presidential campaign on November 8th, 2016, my 2017 reelection cycle began, and we have our first major fundraising deadline in a little over 12 hours, at midnight tonight, Saturday, December 31st. It has been a long time since I’ve made an appeal for financial assistance from my supporters, but with this deadline approaching tonight, I sincerely ask for your help with a campaign contribution. Tonight, we'll report our campaign cash-on-hand to the State Board of Elections, which will be a very public indicator of our campaign strength and one watched by the announced candidate running against me. While generous donations are welcome and needed in a reelection campaign that will cost us nearly $500K, I would equally appreciate whatever you can do, even if at the $10 or $25 level. I already have a declared opponent who has been raising funds and publicly campaigning for several months. He is a former Bernie Sanders supporter who recently moved from Los Angeles to Virginia, bringing with him a dramatically different perspective that is inconsistent with the values held by many. For that reason, I humbly and sincerely ask for your help by midnight (Eastern Time) tonight, December 31st. You can make a safe and secure online donation by clicking here no later than midnight tonight. If you prefer to contribute by check, please make it payable to "Friends of Rich Anderson" and mail it to P.O. Box 7926, Woodbridge, VA 22195. I can’t thank you enough for your past support that has permitted us to represent the 51st House District in the Virginia General Assembly since 2010. It has been the honor of a lifetime after having spent 30 years in a military uniform, and I wish to continue my service to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many thanks for your support, but more than that, thank you for your friendship! And from our home to yours and from our family to yours, Ruth and I wish you a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous year in 2017."

    And News of the Force has received information from several people alleging that the Civil Air Patrol has "botched" many of its missions supporting the U.S. Air Force's "Falcon Virgo" air defense exercises, and that the Air Force is looking to replace the CAP in those missions. Those air defense exercises normally include U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard jet fighters, at least one CAP plane and a Coast Guard helicopter. Sources also told us that the Air Force pays the Civil Air Patrol $1 million for each Falcon Virgo exercise that it participates in. On Thursday, we contacted the press desk in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force seeking comment. The individual working at the press desk said he knew nothing about it but would find somebody who did. He asked us for our deadline, as we told him we'd really like the information by the next day, which was yesterday. By press time today, no one has gotten back to us.

 

American Red Cross

    

    The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois has responded to 135 fires in December.

    Volunteers will assist with the installation of 1,000 free smoke alarms in Aberdeen for the American Red Cross' MLK National Day of Service.

    And the American Red Cross assisted hundreds of thousands of people impacted by severe weather and natural disasters across the U,S. this past year, mobilizing 32,000 volunteers for 180 disasters.

 

Random thoughts from other people

By NOTF Staff Writer Doug Abruzzo

    Here are some thoughts to ponder in the new year. I read all of these from other people:

    1. Reflection on the drift toward European socialism and the "nanny state."
From a 1950 US Supreme Court case: "It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.

    2. Reflection on the policy of the U.S. to achieve a "two-state solution" in the Middle East. "While the policy of the Palestinian terrorists is that Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth, our Secretary of State suggests that Israel should be willing to meet the Palestinians half-way."

    3. Another point of view on the Israeli and Palestinian government of their territory. "I am a Muslim woman; I can go to college and medical school; I can even run for elective office. All because I live in Israel."
    4. An observation on the view that Russia attempted to influence the election outcome. "The people who sued to invalidate state laws requiring photo voter identification did more to influence the outcome of the election than Russian hackers could."

    5. From a sign carried by a black man who sees reality: "No mother should have to fear for her son's life every time he robs a store."

    6. On the left's concepts of "social justice." Senator Bernie Sanders famously said, "No person who works 40 hours per week should be living in poverty. Yet, his solution is to take money from those working 40 hours per
week and give it those working zero hours per week."

    7. From a World War II veteran reflecting on "political correctness." "The world can sure be grateful that we weren't afraid of "offending" the Nazis and
the Japs."

    Wishing a happy and safe New Year to all of our NOTF friends and readers.

 

The parting shots

    On this date in 1756, Russia joined the Alliance of Versailles. In 1775, American forces were unable to capture the British stronghold in the Battle of Quebec. In 1852, future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes was married. In 1862, during the Civil War, the Union ironclad USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.; U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the act admitting West Virginia to the Union; and the Battle of Stone's River, Tenn., began, lasting until Jan. 20, 1863. In 1867, England's Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the new capital city of Canada. In 1879, Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of his incandescent lamp. In 1934, the "Drunkometer," the world's first DUI breath test, began use in India. In 1939, 25 German U-boats were sunk in December. In 1940, 37 U-boats were sunk during the month. In 1942, sixty U-boats were sunk during the month; and the Battle in the Berents Sea began. In 1945, the ratification of the United Nations charter was completed. In 1946, U.S. President Harry S Truman officially proclaimed the end of World War II; and French troops withdrew from Lebanon. In 1951, the Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe; and the first battery used to convert radioactive to electrical energy was introduced. In 1961, the "Beach Boys" performed their first gig under  that name. In 1963, The Dear Abby Show premiered on CBS and ran for 11 years. In 1968, the world's first supersonic airliner, a Russian Tu-144, was flown for the first time. In 1984, the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO. In 1986, a Russian Tu-144 flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time. In 1988, Mario Lemieux became the first and only player to score 5 NHL goals in 5 different ways. In 1990, the United Somali Congress seized the presidential palace in Mogadishu. In 1995, American cartoonist Bill Watterson concluded his comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes," after 10 years. In 1991, the CPN (the Communist Party of the Netherlands), ceased to exist; and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed, becoming the Russian Federation. In 1999, people and businesses across the world prepared for the rumored Y2K disaster whereby computer systems around the world would stop working at midnight (but it never happened). And in 2009, both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occurred.

    Actor Anthony Hopkins is 79 years old today. South Korean rapper Psy is 39; and Donald J. Trump, Jr., is also 39.

    Taiwan's president has urged China to engage in “calm and rational” dialogue to maintain peace, vowing not to give in to Beijing's recent moves to “threaten and intimidate” the self-ruled island.

    Wild pandas are cute. They are also wild. No one knows better than Wei Hua, a veteran keeper who was severely mauled by a panda last week at a wild animal protection center in Sichuan Province, China.

    Four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and tennis world number one Andy Murray have become British knights in the New Year Honors, and Jessica Ennis-Hill was made a dame.

    Thousands of passengers were left stranded as thick fog crippled Heathrow Airport in London and forced 50 cancellations.

    Sentries at the British Royal Navy's Faslane Naval Base were ordered to shoot on sight suspected intruders after three people broke into a nuclear submarine there, Cabinet papers show.

    The first of two baby American bald eagles has begun to hatch in Fort Myers, Fla., delighting millions of people who have tuned in to watch the births on live cameras.

    Investigators were trying to determine yesterday how a Texas woman fell to her death from a chairlift at a small Colorado ski resort.

    And the murder conviction of Michael Skakel, the nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, has had his murder conviction upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court.

 

                

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